Maria Mitchell Biography

Maria Mitchell Biography

      Maria Mitchell was born in 1818 in Massachusetts. She was the third of ten children and was, for the most part, taught by her father.  She is also the first cousin four times removed of Benjamin Franklin. Her father began teaching Maria astronomy very early. Since her family was Quakers, they believed firmly in the importance of education, although in 1842, Mitchell converted to Unitarianism. But anyways, Maria was able to achieve an education equal to that of a male. This helped to spur Maria into becoming an educated women and set up the building blocks to become a great woman. By the age of 12, Maria was calculating the exact movements of an annular eclipse.

       When Mitchell was 18 years old, she acquired the job of a librarian at Nantucket Athenaeum. Mitchell kept up with this job for some 26 years while all the while still managing to look up at the heavens. In October 1847 at the age of 29, Mitchell spotted a new comet, Miss. Mitchell's Comet. The King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal that made Mitchell world famous because she was only the second woman to be awarded this impressive prize.  From 1849 until 1868, Maria worked at the U.S. Nautical Almanac Office charting the positions of Venus. In 1865, Maria was hired as a faculty member of the all woman's college, Vassar Female College.  Here, she was a teacher of math and astronomy. Most of the other professors thought that is was interesting for an unmarried woman to be a teacher. Mitchell challenged her students with lots of reading and writing assignments. Mitchell wanted to give the young women the best education that they could get. Very soon, Maria started to work for Women's Rights. She formed an Association where hundreds of women professionals gathered, and soon became president of the association. She had to resign, though,  from the Nautical Office because her job at the college needed her full attention. Maria Mitchell also participated in many prestigious clubs and organizations as well as being the director of the Observatory at Vassar College. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Women are just a few of the associations that Mitchell took part in. 

      While at Vassar College, Mitchell became the first professor of astronomy. She ended up retiring from the college in 1888, and dying the next year on June 28th. Although Mitchell lived for 71 years, her legacy is still visible today. The Maria Mitchell Observatory is located in Nantucket Island. It was founded by American women that wanted the memory of Maria Mitchell to remain alive. There is also a public school located in Denver, Colorado named after her, as well as a crater on the moon.  Another example of a tribute to Maria is the World War II liberty ship called the SS Maria Mitchell. As you can see, Maria is a genius woman who put heart into her work. Without Maria Mitchell, the notion of woman astronomers probably would have been delayed, and some discoveries would not have been made since she helped to encourage women into the science field.